The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of artichoke plant, botanically known as Cynara scolymus L. and herein referred to by the cultivar name `PS-MSC0041`.
Cynara scolymus L., commonly known as Globe artichoke, is a thistle-like perennial herb and is a member of the family Asteraceae. Globe artichokes comprise leaves which are pinnately lobed but primarily spineless, globose capitula composed of overlapping layers of large involucral bracts, and receptacles which are enlarged and fleshy. Globe artichoke plants may be propagated by division and are essentially grown for the production of the immature flower heads, which are considered as vegetable delicacies. Fresh artichokes may be steamed or boiled, after which the fleshy receptacle, inner and outer bracts, and parts of the floral stem may be eaten.
The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program carried out by the inventor, William J. Colfer at Chowchilla, Calif. 1996. `PS-MSC0041` was discovered and selected within the progeny to open-pollinated proprietary cultivar MS2C-1 by the inventor, William J. Colfer.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by division was performed by the inventor in Watsonville, Calif. in 1996, and has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for the new cultivar are firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction.